La Gaudière
by velleity
Summary: n. the glint of goodness inside people, which you can only find by sloshing them back and forth in your mind until everything dark and gray and common falls away, leaving behind a constellation at the bottom of the pan (c)Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig. In which Kagami stays in America for high school and Furihata discovers that his preferred color is red. College!AU


**Disclaimer: We do not own KUROKO NO BASUKE or any of its character**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

When Furihata received the message that the Seirin Basketball Club was going to have a reunion, he was ecstatic. Sure, everyone promised to keep in touch with each other, but college took up too much of their time and eventually, they just became names in his phone book. He missed everybody

Another reason why Furihata wanted to see his old teammates was because college was _killing_ him. When people said college was hell on Earth, they weren't exaggerating. His room was a mess because his roommate is a big nincompoop who hasn't heard what 'cleaning up' is, his lessons looked like they were made by Satan himself, and unlike other students, he had to keep his grades up or his scholarship might just get taken away.

But what really takes the cake is that the guy that once plagued his nightmares back in high school was living right across the hall. He also takes the same course as Furihata and as a result, has five classes with him. For Furihata, it was his worst nightmare coming to life: Akashi Seijuurou and College.

Maybe Furihata is being a little overdramatic, but he once saw what Akashi could do with a pair of scissors. So sue him for being scared for his own wellbeing.

However, for the past few days, every time he sees Akashi, he gets all jittery and nervous and scared, but not in a bad way. The only time he felt that way was back in high school when their team competed in the Winter Cup. And ever since the two of them became seatmates in one of his classes, he had this unexplainable urge to pet Akashi's hair. Furihata also started to notice other little things about the red head: like the way Akashi would tug his bangs when he was frustrated or when Akashi would unconsciously smirk every time he answers their professor's most complicated questions. And for the love of all that is good, Furihata didn't know why he thought those mannerisms of Akashi's were cute.

When Akashi started being a constant figure in Furihata's mind, he thought he was going crazy due to all the stress and pressure college puts on an individual, especially when he started to think that getting to know Akashi and becoming his friend wasn't such a bad thing.

" _But it_ is _a bad thing."_ Furihata convinces himself over and over again because he was still young and he still had so many dreams. He didn't want to die yet, and becoming friends with Akashi Seijuurou was a surefire way to get himself killed.

Furihata's thoughts were interrupted by Fukuda who was riding shotgun. They were carpooling together on Kawahara's car. The last time Furihata saw them was during their high school graduation. Back then, the three of them were inseparable. It was sad to think that they barely recognized each other anymore, though physically, nothing much has changed. Kawahara seemed to have gotten taller. He looked more mature as well and he still has his signature semi-skinhead look. Fukuda hasn't changed much either. His back has gotten broader, and his hair was longer too. Now that he thought about it, Furihata was the one who probably changed the most physically since graduation. Next to Fukuda and Kawahara, Furihata seemed really skinny and comparatively weaker, probably because of all the cramming he's been doing lately and due to the lack of food intake, but he's also gotten taller like Kawahara and his hair grew longer too. The three of them also had bags under their eyes, but really, who doesn't have one once college sets in? "Hey, Furi, you alright? You've been staring out the window this whole time."

Furihata turned to look at Fukuda. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about how much we've changed since high school. It's been so long since we got together again."

"I know what you mean, Furi. Ever since – hey, you jackass! Look at the road will you?! Who taught you how to drive?! Your grandmother?!" Kawahara, who was driving, shouted when a car swiveled through, almost hitting their car. "Idiots these days."

Maybe they really _had_ changed since high school, some drastically more than others.

Soon enough, they arrived at Seirin. Furihata surveyed the area, looking around as if trying to memorize everything or else he might forget about the time he spent at school. For him, Seirin reminded him of a time where his thoughts mostly revolve around basketball. Despite Furihata's average skills in basketball, he still loved the game. It made him feel alive despite all the school work. But now he felt like a zombie. His mind was fried from painstakingly boring lessons one after another, lots of assignments, an Akashi Seijuurou, _and_ he hasn't been able to play basketball for a while now.

Furihata's eyes landed on the rooftop, and it brought a smile to his lips. That rooftop witnessed the basketball club's hopes and dreams. They all screamed their ambitions up there, voices filled with excitement and determination. They shouted with all their might hoping that one day it would come true. That rooftop also witnessed their fears and the consequences they had to face if ever they go back on the words they shouted. Because confessing to your crush while naked wasn't something they _ever_ wanted to do. Along with their drive to become the best in Japan, the rooftop was a pretty monumental place for the Seirin Basketball team.

The three of them walked around for a while, reminiscing the past. As they passed by the hallway, they saw the field where Kuroko once wrote "W _e'll be no.1!"_ that fueled their desire to win even more and to train harder.

Once the gym's doors were in sight, the three held a breath, and at the same time, opened the doors to where they spent most of their afternoons when they were all part of the same basketball team. A wave of nostalgia washes over Furihata as he began to see familiar faces. It hadn't hit him just how _much_ he missed the team until he actually saw them personally. He missed Coach Riko's sadistic tendencies, crazy and masochistic as it might sound. He missed Kiyoshi–senpai's kind smile and his carefree attitude. Kiyoshi—senpai was the one who lifted them off of the slums, back when the team was so close to giving up. He also missed Izuki senpai's lame and corny puns, though secretly, he enjoyed them. He missed Hyuuga senpai's tyrannical attitude, especially when he lead their ragtag team to the Winter Cup. He even missed the way he would scream in surprise when Kuroko would appear out of nowhere. Kuroko gave the team a stronger and clearer sense of what basketball is about. Now, the team is back together in their old high school gymnasium and everything felt so familiar to Furihata. He really missed all of them.

Furihata's eyes landed on a mop of dark red hair he didn't recognize next to Kuroko, laughing loudly at something the bluenette said. Maybe Furihata's mind was plying tricks on him, but watching the red-haired guy laugh made him think that they had met somewhere before.

An inkling of sakura blossoms and the swings passed by his mind as Furihata tries to remember the man.

* * *

Kagami was definitely out of his comfort zone.

When Kuroko asked him to come to a reunion party, this wasn't really what Kagami had been expecting. He's known Kuroko for a while now since they happen to share the same room and the same college course, but he just couldn't imagine Kuroko hanging out with this type of people. It's not that Kagami hated them. They were just a rowdy bunch—the complete opposite of the bluenette. There was a guy with glasses who kept calling everyone 'brat' and there was also _a_ nother guy who looked like he had a permanent smile on his face—it unnerved Kagami a bit, and there was also someone who kept on making the corniest jokes Kagami has ever heard, an there was a very scary girl who acted a lot like Alex, his basketball mentor back in America, and if that wasn't scary, he didn't know what was. Except this girl doesn't go around kissing her friends on the lips. But the longer Kagami stayed at the party and observe the other guests, the more it made sense that these were Kuroko's friends, given Kuroko's disappearing act.

At one point in the party, the glasses guy got into an argument with the smiley-faced dude, but it didn't look like they were having a serious argument – Kagami overheard something about an action figure – since the smiley-faced dude was still, well, smiling. Soon enough, the scary girl both hit them on the head with a paper fan that put an end to their fight. But it seemed that Kagami had been staring at them for too long because the scary girl walked over to him. "Kagami-kun, right? I'm sorry about those idiots."

"It's alright. Their. . . uhm. . . interesting?" Kagami said, trying to be polite. Even he didn't want to get the scary girl angry. Besides, who knew what she could do with that paper fan of hers. "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name."

The scary girl smiled and offered her hand. "Oh yeah, that's right. I'm Aida Riko. I'm the coach of this team,"

Kagami shook her hand, surprised written all over his face. "Really? Wow, that's great! I thought that guy over there was the coach and you were the manager."

"Him?" They turned to look at the frail old man in the seats. "That's our club advisor. A lot of people get it wrong, don't worry about it."

Eventually, the glasses guy and the smiley-faced dude joined the conversation an introduced themselves as Hyuuga Junpei and Kiyoshi Teppei.

"I'm Kagami Taiga, a friend of Kuroko's. He invited me here to meet you guys since he says that I needed to stop hanging out with my phone and mingle with real people. Though I'm pretty sure he just wanted me to be his personal driver for the day."

Soon enough, Kagami became comfortable with their company. The conversation shifted from basketball to the Meiji Era –it turns out Hyuuga was a history geek— to college, then back to basketball again. By the end of their conversation, he was mentally exhausted. Kagami swears that a minute wouldn't pass by without Hyuuga hitting Kiyoshi on the head or Aida hitting the both of them.

The gym doors swung open and three new people arrive, and for some strange reason, Kagami felt like the guy in the middle looked vaguely familiar to him, as if he's met him before. Kagami then felt some kind of urge to just go up to the guy and hug him, as creepy as it might sound. The stranger had the most—

"Kagami kun, are you alright?" Kuroko asked, appearing out of nowhere, interrupting his thoughts and surprising him _again._

"Kuroko, you bastard, how many times have I told you to stop it with the appearing-out-of-nowhere act?" Kagami half-yelled at Kuroko. He'd known Kuroko for a while now but he still doesn't understand why Kuroko has such a low presence. Kagami's eyes returned to the brunette and decided to ask Kuroko who that guy was.

Kuroko's eyes flashed before he answered: "That's Furihata Kouki-kun. He used to be my teammate."

"So that's his name," Kagami mumbled as he goes back to staring at Furihata, unaware of the look on Kuroko's face.

At some point, the guy— _Furihata_ , Kagami reminds himself—noticed that Kagami was staring at him. Furihata's face turned red, but he still gave Kagami a smile. Kagami took it as a sign to talk to him. Deciding to approach Furihata, Kagami started to make his way to their side of the gym when Kuroko suddenly took his arm. "Kagami-kun, Hyuuga senpai wants us all to huddle up." He then proceeded to grabbing his arm and dragging him across the gym floor.

 _"_ _Maybe, I'll get to talk to him later."_ Kagami thought while looking back at Furihata as Kuroko dragged him all the while voicing out his protests to Kuroko.

When everyone was all huddled up together in the center of the gym, Hyuuga stepped forward, "Alright, you brats! I know it's been since we last saw each other, but now, were all gathered together again at the same place where we strengthened our bonds, where we learned the true meaning of teamwork, camaraderie and friendship. This place witnessed all our tears, dedication, struggles, and passion. This was where we played the game we all loved. And now that—"

Hyuuga took in a deep breath to stop himself from crying when someone shouted: "Hyuuga's going to cry!"

A vein popped out of Hyuuga's head. "Shut up and die, Izuki."

Hyuuga cleared his throat and continued his speech and by the end of it, when he was about to ask the people to disperse again, he was interrupted by Aida. She faced the crowd with a serious expression. "I know you guys haven't seen each other in a longtime so I thought maybe it's time to catch up by…." she paused for dramatics, "talking about our love life!"

The announcement was followed by loud groans, like they knew this was going to happen at one point or another, given their coach's attempts at 'girlish tendencies'.

"Alright, enough complaining. Kiyoshi! You start."

Kiyoshi blushed and stuttered for a moment, but began to explain how he had this friend but it didn't seem like it was going to work because his friend liked someone else, and by now, the whole team already knew who he was referring to. Kagami's mind wondered from place to place, but it mostly wondered straight in Furihata's direction. He noticed that Furihata had the biggest eyes Kagami had ever seen. They were doe-like and kind, and it seemed to light up with laughter.

His thoughts were interrupted once again by Kuroko who was tapping his shoulders. "Kagami-kun, it's your turn."

He began to notice how everyone was looking at him expectedly, even Kuroko who was looking at him with gleaming eyes, which was strange. Kagami didn't pay much attention to it because his mind was running, trying to decide on what he should say. Kagami hated being put on the spot.

"Just say something, Kagami-kun. But you have to make sure their satisfied or they won't stop pestering you." Kagami did not like the sound of that.

"Oh. . . Uhm, well, I'm not dating anybody right now," everybody voiced their protest at this, urging him to continue.

"Really, guys! There's no one. I have college, basketball, living alone, and. . . basketball. I don't have time for that right now." Kagami said while looking at Furihata's direction every once in a while.

"Boo! You're boring Kagami-kun!" Aida pouted. "What about you, Kuroko-kun? Is there somebody?"

"I do like someone," Kuroko started, "but he's a little dense when it comes to romance."

 _"_ _Dense, huh? "Kuroko's got it rough."_ Kagami thought as he pondered on Kuroko's answer.

"Come on, Kuroko-kun, tell us more! At least tell us one more detail." Izuki-senpai insisted.

"He plays basketball, but he didn't go to this school." Kuroko added and refused to answer any more questions.

They all turned to face Furihata, and Aida smiled at him. Her voice was sickeningly sweet, and her aura emitted something dark and scary, as if Furihata's answer should be what she wants to hear. "How about you, Furihata-kun?"

"E-eh?!" Furihata squeaked, scared and embarrassed. Kagami thought he looked really cute with a blush on his cheeks. "A-ah, well, uhm. . ."

"Spit it out already!"

"Y-yes, Captain! T-there is someone, but I don't think he l-likes me back. H-he's way out of my league." Furihata quietly says.

"And?" Aida motioned for him to continue talking.

"U-uhm, well, he plays basketball a-and he has red hair."

Kagami perked up at the statement, a blush rising to his cheeks. But reality dawned upon him and he wakes up from his stupor. _"We just met today, so it couldn't be me. Besides, we haven't even talked yet!"_

Soon enough, the crowd lost interest in Furihata's love life since he refused to give out anything anymore, so they moved on to the next poor person they wanted to torture.

The party became a blur to Kagami, as the night progressed. Every time he had tried to talk to Furihata, Kuroko was always there, suddenly appearing and dragging him away from Furihata's direction, so the party ended without Kagami getting to talk to him.

When the party had ended and Kagami and Kuroko were making their way towards Kagami's car, they heard footsteps quickly catching up them. They turned to see who it was and they were met with a mop of brown hair, catching his breath. "E-excuse me, Kuroko-kun,"

"What is it, Furihata-kun?"

"D-do you think, maybe, I could ride with you guys? Kawahara and Fukuda forgot about me and left."

"It's fine with me, Furihata-kun, but you have to ask Kagami-kun. It is his car after all."

"S-sure, fine by me. I'm Kagami Taiga, by the way." Kagami found himself the target of really cute doe-like eyes. He offered his hand, and internally, he thanked those guys who forgot about Furihata.

The brunette shook his hand. "I'm Furihata Kouki"

* * *

The ride back to the university was fun, as Furihata got to know more about Kagami Taiga, and it made him realize that Kagami was a really great guy. Furihata found out that Kagami was a returnee from America, and he also plays basketball. Kuroko added that Kagami was talented despite his 'idiotic' appearance because as it turns out, Kagami is a great cook and that he's the one who makes them their meals at the dormitory they shared.

Once they arrive at Furihata's dorm, the three had exchanged numbers so that they could keep in touch, and as Furihata was shutting the door after getting out, Kuroko called out to him. "Furihata-kun,"

Kouki faced the bluenette, and the look Kuroko gave him sent a chill down his spine. Kuroko's eyes were glinting with knowledge and mischievousness. "Good luck with your _red-hair_ problem. I hope your feelings reach him someday."

Furihata's face bloomed into a deep shade of red as his mind shouted in alarm: _"He knows! He knows! Kuroko knows! Kuroko knows who I was talking about!"_

His eyes darted around frantically to see if anyone had overheard their conversation. He shares the dorm with a certain red-head, so anyone might get the wrong idea and he wanted to clear that up quickly before any rumors start. That is, until he saw a familiar mop of red hair on the porch of their dorm, heterochromatic eyes looking at them. Furihata swallows a lump forming in his throat as he took in the sight of Akashi Seijuurou sitting on the hammock, book in hand.

"See you around, Furihata-kun." He heard Kuroko say, and just like that, the car was gone.

 ** _to be continued..._**

* * *

a/n: Hi :) Reviews and constructive criticisms are always welcome


End file.
